Work Hard While Young, or Join Dad in the Pure Land as His Brother; A Lovestruck Girl

"I only slapped a classmate once. He was the one who provoked me first..."

"Just one slap? Xiaotian didn't know he provoked you? And he still made you clean the classroom?"

Asuka's cheeks were puffed out. It was hard to tell whether she was angry or had simply stuffed too much food into her mouth...

"But your guts really have gotten bigger. That certainly makes your mother see you in a new light!"

Asuka actually looked a little proud at that moment...

"..."

Liuyun was a little confused. With a mother like this, why had the original owner always been so meek and submissive?

At the root of it, it was probably because of his father, Uchiha Sheng. From his memories, his father had been quite a good person—kind to everyone and never one to compete with others.

After dinner, Liuyun began working out in the small courtyard of his home.

Push-ups, squats, striking the wooden post—his sweat-drenched efforts left Asuka marveling again and again.

"Son, why have you suddenly become so diligent?"

Her son rarely took the initiative to exercise, let alone at night...

Liuyun used to like hiding in his room every night to read little comics. Once he got tired, he would sleep, and he almost never came out to move around.

Why did he suddenly seem like a completely different person today?

Liuyun stopped when he heard her.

He did not want to work hard either, but he had no choice...

This was the Ninja World. The Second Shinobi World War had not even truly begun yet, and there would still be the Third and Fourth Shinobi World Wars afterward...

As a ninja, how many calamities could he withstand without strength?

He was neither the protagonist nor an important supporting character. The Nine-Tails Attack, Uchiha Itachi's clan massacre, Pain's Invasion, all kinds of ninja missions... any one of them could get him killed.

He did not want to die young only a few years after transmigrating here. Nor did he want to follow in Father Sheng's footsteps, leaving only his wife and child behind before dying full of resentment.

"In one year, I'll become a ninja. I need to prepare well in advance..." Liuyun said vaguely.

"But isn't this preparing a little too far in advance..." Asuka said awkwardly.

Liuyun shook his head. He even felt that time was far too tight.

During the Third Shinobi World War, even children who had just graduated were said to have been sent to the battlefield. There had been no such claim during the Second Shinobi World War, but Liuyun could not be sure!

If the Second Shinobi World War turned out to be like the Third, then he would probably be in great danger—especially as a minor extra like him...

"The more strength I have, the safer my life will be. Strengthening myself is necessary."

"Well said! Mom supports you!"

Asuka clapped and smiled. It was naturally a good thing for her son to be motivated. Knowing to train his body would bring nothing but benefits, so of course she, as his mother, would support him.

She only hoped her precious son would not give up halfway...

"Tomorrow, Mom will give you money to buy exercise equipment. You have to train properly and can't slack off!" Asuka said, clenching her fist encouragingly.

"Uh..."

Liuyun did not know whether to laugh or cry.

After doing one hundred push-ups, one hundred squats, one hundred punches against the post, and one hundred kicks against it, Liuyun was panting heavily from exhaustion.

Compared to others his age in the Ninja World, his stamina was indeed terribly poor.

Without activating his Sharingan, his taijutsu with fists and feet alone might not even match Kushina's, let alone supreme geniuses like Minato Namikaze.

His body was exhausted at the moment, but his mental state was surprisingly good. This was related to the explosive growth in his spiritual power after his two souls fused.

After sitting on the ground to rest for a while, his thoughtful mother prepared drinks and ice water for him. Once Liuyun had eased his fatigue, he began practicing Chakra control against the wall.

In other words, the two training exercises known as "Tree Climbing" and "Water Walking."

"Son, what are you doing?"

Watching Liuyun repeatedly step onto the wall and repeatedly fall to the ground, Asuka finally could not help asking.

She was not a ninja and had never come into contact with this kind of training method.

"I'm training my Chakra control." Liuyun gave a simple explanation, not caring whether Asuka understood.

"Then should I get you a mat? So you won't hurt yourself when you fall..." Asuka said as she prepared to go inside for one, but Liuyun called out to stop her the next moment.

"No need, Mom. Falling is fine. Chakra protects my body, so I won't get hurt from a fall." Liuyun was telling the truth.

Falling a few more times could count as tempering his body. At least then he would not get beaten to death by a few punches in the future...

"Alright! Then train slowly. Go rest early once you're done, and don't stay up too late!"

After her initial curiosity passed, Asuka planned to return to her room to rest.

"Mm!"

Late at night.

Inside the Senju Clan compound.

The lights were still bright in a pink bedroom. A young girl sat cross-legged on the floor, patiently reading the sealing scroll in her hands.

The scrolls recorded the secret arts of the Uzumaki Clan, never passed down to outsiders.

Two knocks sounded at the door, and an elderly woman tremblingly opened it.

"Grandma Mito... why are you here?" Kushina hurriedly rose to her feet.

"It's so late. Why isn't Kushina asleep yet?"

Mito Uzumaki looked at the sealing scrolls scattered across the floor. Her expression clearly froze for a moment, followed by surprise and gratification.

These were the most precious treasures of their Uzumaki Clan. Whirlpool Country had already fallen, and the Uzumaki Clan had nearly been slaughtered to extinction. With so few clansmen remaining, it was naturally worth celebrating that someone was willing to inherit these traditions.

In the past, Kushina had always been busy running around and playing. Getting her to study Sealing Techniques had been incredibly difficult, so why had she suddenly changed today?

"I couldn't sleep for now, so I thought I'd learn a little more about Sealing Techniques..." Kushina answered softly, lowering her head.

She could not help thinking of a certain boy, and of a certain promise.

She wanted to learn more about Sealing Techniques, so that she would at least have something to teach later...

"Good, good, good. It's rare for you to be willing to learn. If there's anything you don't understand in the future, come ask me more often!"

Mito Uzumaki smiled with gratification. She had no idea what the girl was thinking and only thought that she had finally come to her senses...

"But it's too late today. You should turn off the lights and go to sleep early!"

Kushina looked at the clock and realized that she had become so absorbed in reading that it was already deep into the night without her noticing.

"Mm-hm, I'll sleep now. Grandma Mito, you should go to bed early too!" Kushina said with an obedient smile.

"Good child..."

Mito Uzumaki praised her, then gently closed Kushina's door for her.

Lying on her floor bedding, Kushina tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Whenever she closed her eyes, she would think of that boy, of those bewitching and beautiful Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

When she thought of how he had touched her face, and how she had also gently stroked his handsome face, Kushina's lips could not help curving upward.

"Why had I never noticed he was so handsome before?"

Kushina's heart felt as though it had been coated in honey, so sweet that she could not fall asleep.

"He hid his strength and still got such good results. Shouldn't he be the real top student in the class?"

"What a low-key guy..."

Kushina hugged her pillow and rolled around from side to side. She muttered to herself from time to time, her face wearing a silly, lovestruck smile the whole while.

"Achoo..."

Liuyun lay on his floor bedding, sneezing from time to time. He thought he had caught a cold...